The Final Weekend of May

Last week was the final full week of school and it was super busy.  The weekend was busy too.  Here are some of the highlights.

We have been having afternoon and evening thundershowers every day lately and Friday was no exception.  The sky was dark and cloudy and we did get intermittent rain, some of which was quite heavy. 

After I got home from school, Charly and I decided to run some errands and our first stop was the library so I could pick up a book I have had on hold. 

After the library, we stopped at our favorite used book store that is just up the street.  This bookstore is in an old Firestone Car Care Center that has been converted to a bookstore.  They were having a customer appreciation book give away and we decided to check it out!

We thought that the giveaway books would be old books that weren't selling, but there were actually several carts of brand-new, hard bound books by well-known authors that were completely free!  Each person could choose up to five books!  Wow - what a great deal! 

These are the FREE books that Charly and I brought home.  My selections are at the top, and Charly's picks are at the bottom of the picture.   Because I am trying to unclutter, I plan to read the books I got, then pass them along to others by donating them to the Friends of the Library  or a thrift store.  

Friday night after dinner, I exercised downstairs due to the rain. Later, Charly and I watched part of an old movie, then we read before bed.  In addition to the book I just picked up from the library, I am reading the book American Hunger on my Kindle.  It is the book version of a 2014 series in The Washington Post about the rise of food stamps and government assistance in America.  Even though it is about ten years old, I can't imagine that the problem the author writes about has gotten any better.  It is a very eye-opening book about a troubling and persistent problem for many in this country that in so many ways is the "land of plenty. " (Update - I finished this short book Sunday night). 

Saturday morning, we were up fairly early, dressed and out for a morning walk.  It was a warm and beautiful morning. 

I love these bring orange poppies that we pass as we walk through our neighborhood. 

I saw a Painted Lady butterfly on a catnip plant that stopped long enough for me to take a picture.  

After our walk, we were off to our local mall.  I needed to make an exchange at a store that was only in the mall. Except for a couple of quick trips to the Apple Store, we hadn't been to the mall since before Covid.  We went as soon as the stores opened, so there weren't many people there.  

While we were at the mall, we passed a store that I received a gift card to for Christmas 2019!  Before I could use it, Covid hit and stores closed down and I pretty much forgot about the gift card. Today, I decided to go into the store (Down East) and see if they had anything I liked so I could use my gift card.  I tried on several dresses, but I didn't really like anything until I tried on the dress show above, which I ended up purchasing with the gift card.  

Later, we met up with friends for lunch at a Greek place we all like. We enjoyed good food and good conversation. 

After lunch, we headed out to IKEA  to look for some things we are thinking of purchasing once we move.   You can see that our sunny, blue-skied morning, once again turned to dark clouds and rain in the afternoon. 

The kitchen of our home (the house we are moving into) could use more kitchen area storage and we are also thinking about getting a new mattress and dining room table.  We didn't buy any furniture Saturday, but we got some good ideas for when we are all moved into our house. 

Sunday morning I was up at  6 a.m., which is sleeping in an hour later than I get up on work days.  I exercised downstairs, listening to this audiobook, God Will Prevail by Kerry Muhlestein.  I later finished this book while indexing Canadian immigration records.   

About 11 a.m. we were off to church for our main service which begins at 11:30 a.m..  I wore the new dress I got on Saturday. I am usually a skirt and blouse girl, but it is fun to have a new dress.   The dress is very feminine, which I love.  I decided to take a quick selfie of Charly and I together (I used the camera remote and timer on my Apple Watch) so the angle is not the best, and I realized that our colors don't match at all, but this is basically what we looked like Sunday morning as we went off to church (not too bad for a couple who will celebrate their 44th wedding anniversary next month). 😉

Sunday afternoon included taking a short nap, finishing my monthly historic records volunteer indexing goal, and having delicious BLT sandwiches for dinner. 

After dinner, I took a solo walk and encountered a couple of the ducks that hang out in our neighborhood during the summer months. There is a golf course nearby and we think they must live near a pond on the course, but they can frequently be seen walking around our community.  

There are a lot of flowering plants in gardens around our area, and they are all out bloom and looking quite lovely.  These are just some of the flowers I passed on my Sunday evening walk. 

While I walked, I listened to this audiobook which I just started and really like so far.  Dr. John Delony is Dave Ramsey show personality and I am a big Dave Ramsey fan.  

As soon as I post this, I plan to shower and get my jammies on, then relax and read, and hopefully finish yet another book. 

Weekend Gratitude:

• Living in a free country defended for generations by brave and selfless men and women.  
• Meeting up with good friends for lunch on Saturday.
• Having a nice, relaxing, fun yet productive weekend.
• Getting the news that the tenants have moved out of the house we are going to be moving back into this summer. 
• Having only one more week of school until summer break.
• Having a three day weekend. 

Coming up this week:

• Monday - Memorial Day - no school.
• Wednesday - Yearbook Day so students don't have to go to class.
• Thursday - A brand new month, June 2023, begins.
• Friday - Final school day of the year.  Again students won't be required to be in class because it's Graduation Day!

Until next time,

💙Deb💙

Tuesday Daybook and Tuesday 4

I decided to do a combination post today - a Daybook post and Tuesday 4 questions. 

Outside my window - it has been raining this afternoon. I can hear thunder in the distance as I type this post. Some areas around here have received hail.  We have been getting a lot of afternoon thunderstorms lately.

I've been listening to - an audiobook, God Will Prevail by Kerry Muhlestein.  It is an interesting deep dive into the Old Testament tribes of Israel and their covenants and blessings.  In addition, I like podcasts and I have been listening to podcasts from Jordan Peterson, Dave Ramsey and Matt Walsh.  I've also been watching a Youtube of an Alisa Childers podcast, and a few Youtubes about tiny home living.  I'm not planning to move into a tiny home, (I don't think I would like living in that small a space) but I find tiny homes, and the way they are organized,  quite fascinating.  

I'm reading - this book, Hiding in Park City by RaeAnne Thayne, which isn't great.  It's a basic "chick-lit" romance, which I was attracted to because it is set in Park City, Utah, which is about a half-hour from where I live.  The plot is predictable and only mildly interesting.  I am about 70% finished with this book that I am reading on my Kindle.  I'm also reading a couple of other books at the same time.  

I'm creating - nothing at the moment, but I recently completed these cards which were sent out to seniors in South Carolina and Wisconsin as part of Letters Against Isolation. 

I'm looking forward to - finishing up the school year and starting summer vacation. 

In the kitchen -  Charly made fajitas for dinner.  This is all that was left in the pan when I remembered to take a picture. 

I'm loving - the the tenants will be moving out of our home in the next week, and we can begin doing renovations and moving our stuff in.  Soon after, we hope to get the condominium townhouse that we are currently living in on the market, and, hopefully, sold very soon (and for a good price!)

I'm working on - finishing laundry and getting ready for tomorrow. 

I'm thinking about - some of the things I'm hearing on this podcast with Alisa Childers and Dr. Everett Piper called Safe Spaces and the Coddling of American Students.  Lots of truth.  I see it every day at school. If you are interested, you can listen to the Alisa Childers podcast here. 

I'm grateful for - spending so much time this month with people I truly love and care about.  

Now, on to the Tuesday 4 questions....

What makes you tired?  Conflict and drama with others exhausts and depresses me.   Family conflict and drama is the worst.  

What things do you value in life?   The things I value most are my faith, family and friends. I also deeply value nature and God's creation.  Last but not least, I value education, learning and books.  How does one live without books?!

How do you want others to see you? I would hope that others would see me as a committed Christian and someone who tries to be good and kind and do the right thing.

What things do you enjoy most and find most relaxing to do? I most enjoy reading, walking outside, hiking and gardening. When I want to relax, I usually put my feet up and read. 

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope your week is going well. 

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"Having a Christian worldview means being utterly convinced that biblical principles are not only true but also work better in the grit and grime of the real world."

~Nancy Pearcey

Another Good Weekend

 We had another nice weekend.  Here's how it went.  

Friday, while I was at school, Charly went to pick up "birthday treats" to take to our grandkids on Saturday morning.  Charly seems to be on a "cookie kick" so he went to Dirty Dough and got these cookies.  Dirty Dough is a competitor of Crumbl Cookies, but all of the Dirty Dough cookies have a filling.  We sampled one and it was quite delicious, but far too rich to have more than a small piece. 

Friday night, I was in a "breakfast-for-dinner" mood so I had bacon, hash browns, scrambled eggs and peaches for dinner. 

Saturday morning, we got up early and headed to our daughter's home in Utah county.  Her whole neighborhood was having a community yard sale, and our grandchildren we were in the spirit of the event. They were selling brownies and lemonade, and some of their unused toys.  

The youngest was selling some of her stuffed animals. 

Our twelve-year-old grandson is quite the entrepreneur.  He is always smiling and happy to see us.  

Our oldest grandson had his 16th birthday recently, so we took him his present. 

We also took our grandson out to breakfast at a place of his choice.  We are making it a tradition to take each grandchild out to eat on his or her birthday. Our grandson Miles chose a Mexican place, Beto's. 

The food was great.  We all ordered breakfast burritos, which were huge.  I could only eat half of mine. 

We had a great time with our grandson, Miles.  He is an ambitious,  smart and talented young man who works hard and is learning to be a mechanic. 

Miles recently bought this car, with his own money, then replaced the transmission and did other repairs by himself.  He is very proud of this car and he is planning to drive it to Arizona by himself this summer to visit his other grandparents. 

We had a great time with our daughter's family. After we left them, we decided to make a day of it in Utah county, and we visited three of our favorite thrift stores in the area.  I found some shorts and a cute summer top which I will use now that the weather is warm.  I was very happy to find shorts at the length I like in my size. 

In the middle of visiting thrift stores, we stopped into our favorite Asian place, Fongs, for lunch. The food and service there is always excellent.   We had a great lunch and enjoyed our time in Utah county. 

Later, when we got home, I had the left-over half of my breakfast burrito and some macaroni - egg salad for Saturday's dinner. 

After dinner, Charly and I took a walk.  It was a beautiful, warm evening. 

Sunday morning, before church, I finished these cards for Letters Against Isolation.  These will be going in the mail to Meals on Wheels in Greenville, South Carolina. 

We went to church, as is our Sunday morning tradition. 

We had a good and relaxing Sunday afternoon.  I took a short nap, then did some indexing of Oklahoma school census records, while listening to some excellent scripture study podcasts focusing on the second coming of Jesus.  Such good stuff. 

Sunday dinner was spaghetti with meat sauce made from Beyond Beef.  It was so good.  We plan to continue using plant based meat to lower our consumption of red meat.   We watched The Chosen during and after dinner. 

Later on, Charly and I went for an abbreviated walk, then I finished my daily exercises downstairs while listening to a Youtube of a podcast by Christian author Alisa Childers.  Good food for thought to end my Sabbath day. 

Weekend Gratitude:

• Seeing our daughter and grandchildren.
• Finalizing plans to visit Josh in Idaho around his birthday.
• Finding some articles of clothing (shorts) that I need for summer.
• Starting the home stretch of this school year this week. 

Coming up this week and beyond:

There isn't a lot formally on the calendar this week until the weekend when things turn very busy.  We will be getting together with friends for lunch on Saturday.  The tenants in our house should be moving out next weekend, which means we will be occupied getting that house ready for us to move back in.  We have a busy summer coming up. 

That's it for this weekend.  Have a good week. 

😊Deb💖

"Cast thy burden upon the Lord,

and he shall sustain thee:

he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."

~ Psalm 55:22 KJV